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Underpotential Deposition‐Induced Synthesis of Composition‐Tunable PtCu Nanocrystals and Their Catalytic Properties
Author(s) -
Jiang Yaqi,
Jia Yanyan,
Zhang Jiawei,
Zhang Lei,
Huang Huang,
Xie Zhaoxiong,
Zheng Lansun
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201203729
Subject(s) - alloy , underpotential deposition , catalysis , copper , platinum , inorganic chemistry , formic acid , nanocrystal , metal , chemistry , reducing agent , materials science , electrochemistry , metallurgy , cyclic voltammetry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , electrode
PtCu alloy octahedral nanocrystals (NCs) have been synthesized successfully by using N , N ‐dimethylformamide as both the solvent and the reducing agent in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride. Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) is found to play a key role in the formation of the PtCu alloy NCs. The composition in the PtCu alloy can be tuned by adjusting the ratio of metal precursors in solution. However, the Cu content in the PtCu alloy NCs cannot exceed 50 %. Due to the fact that Cu precursor cannot be reduced to metallic copper and the Cu content cannot exceed 50 %, we achieved the formation of the PtCu alloy by using Cu UPD on the Pt surface. In addition, the catalytic activities of PtCu alloy NCs with different composition were investigated in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid. The results reveal that the catalytic performance is strongly dependent on PtCu alloy composition. The sample of Pt 50 Cu 50 exhibits excellent activity in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid.